Shoulder strap retainer

ABSTRACT

A shoulder strap retainer consists of a weight distributing pad to be placed on the user&#39;&#39;s shoulder; a strap holding clip having a base plate riveted to the pad with a hold-down arm pivotally mounted to the base plate; and a cushion of soft, relatively frictional, material bonded to the base plate so as to come between the base plate and the hold-down arm. The base plate is substantially flat, and the hold-down arm is curved to include an enlarged shoulder strap encompassing portion in adjacent relationship to the pivotal mounting of the hold-down arm to the base plate, and a strap contacting end portion in overlying relationship to the cushion. The encompassing portion of the arm and the pivotal mounting of the arm to the base plate prevents the shoulder strap from sliding downwardly off the user&#39;&#39;s shoulder and the strap contacting portion of the arm combined with the frictional cushion tends to prevent the shoulder strap from riding upwardly or downwardly from the retainer.

United States Patent [191 McGlynn [54] SHOULDER STRAP RETAINER [76]Inven [22] Filed:

[21] Appl.No.: 116,856

tor: Walter J. McGlynn, 3335 N. 6th St.,

Minneapolis, Minn. 55412 Feb. 19, 1971 [52] US. Cl. ..2/2, 24/262 GC,24/259 A [51] Int. Cl. ..A41d 13/00 [58] Field of Search ..2/2;'24/259GC, 262 GC, 24/252 B, /259 A, 255 G [56] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 1,374,971 4/1921 Wiener ..24/259 A 1,213,392 l/1 9l7 Maloney.......24/262 GC 728,414 5/1903 Rhoads ..24/252 B 2,633,573 4/1953 Sanders..2/2

3,460,21 l 8/1969 Gaston ..24/252 B 2,823,383 2/1958 Crawford ..2/21,804,158 5/193] Essig....;..... ..24/259 A 980,205 l/"l9ll Clinch....24/l63 FC 925,828 6/1909 Newton et al ..24/252 B FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS France ..24/252 B Primary ExaminerJordan Franklin AssistantExaminerGeorge I-I. Krizmanich I Attorney-Bum, Braddock & Bartz 57ABSTRACT V A shoulder strap retainer consists of a weight distributingpad to be placed on the users shoulder; a strap holding clip having abase plate riveted to the pad with a hold-down arm pivotally mounted tothe base plate; and a cushion of soft, relatively frictional, materialbonded to the base plate so as to come between the base plate and theholddown arm. The base plate is substantially flat, and the hold-downarm is curved to include an enlarged shoulder strap encompassing portionin adjacent relationshipto the pivotal mounting of the hold-down arm tothe base plate, and a strap contacting end portion in overlyingrelationship to the cushion. The encompassing portion of the arm and thepivotal mounting of the arm to the base plate prevents the shoulderstrap from sliding downwardly off the users shoulder and the strapcontacting portion of the arm combined with the frictional cushion tendsto prevent the shoulder strap from riding upwardly or downwardly fromthe retainer. 3

4 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to the requirements of a person carrying a bag suspended from astrap extending over the shoulder:

l. to prevent the strap from sliding off of the shoulder; and

2. to distribute the weight carried by the shoulder strap for thecomfort of user. A shoulder strap retainer is provided which may beclipped to any one of a number of different types of shoulder straps todistribute the weight of the shoulder strap, retain the shoulder strapin position on the users shoulder, and prevent the shoulder strap fromriding upwardly out of the clip which holds the strip in the retainer.

A substantial number of users of the present shoulder strap retainerwill be by women carrying decorative containers formerly referred to ashandbags, but now so enlarged that shoulder straps have been added toqualify them as shoulder bags. Other important usage will be by men andwomen in supporting such working equipment as camera bags or other heavyaccessory supply bags.

Pads for distributing weight carried on the shoulders of an individualare known, and particularly such pads to protect individuals carryingheavy camera cases are known. See the patent to Dopyera, U.S. Pat. No.3,050,734. Such pads have been designed, however, to fit on a particularstyle of shoulder strap, to be more or less permanently positioned onsuch a strap, and not conveniently removable for a temporary use withanother shoulder strap on another bag. Clearly, a readilyinterchangeable shoulder strap retainer which may be moved readily fromone shoulder strap and one style of shoulder strap to another isdesirable, so that an individual may have one or two such devices forthe number of different article containing bags that are likely to beowned.

Shoulder protectors shown in the patents to Trent, U.S. Pat. No.2,501,749 and to Saunders, U.S. Pat. No. 2,763,004 are also of a typewhich is not readily interchangeable between different styles ofshoulder strap.

It has been contemplated that protective shoulder pads be permanently,slideably attached to shoulder straps, and to the extent that these padsinclude materials with a high coefficient of friction between the strapand the users shoulder, they will tend to prevent the strap from slidingfrom the shoulder. However, in the case of fashionable shoulder bags asworn by women, it is apparent that the effect of a fashionablydecorative shoulder strap, which may be braided, chain links, flat orrounded leather, simulated leather or rope and many others, will besubstantially negated by the appearance of a highly functional,permanently attached pad. The majority of potential users would choosethe inconvenience of the constantly slipping shoulder strap rather thanaccept the change in appearance in their otherwise fashionableaccessory. There may be other occasions, however, where the use of anarticle carrying bag would be willing to accept the inconvenience inappearance caused by wearing a shoulder strap retainer and on thoseoccasions it would be desirable to affix such an item to the shoulderstrap. This change in purpose intended for an article carrying bag wouldmean that some otherwise fashionable and desirable bags would remainunsold because of a permanently affixed shoulder strap retainer. Suchrelatively permanent pads or retainers are shown in patents such asthose to Newman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,154,787, Korib, U.S. Pat. No.3,229,694, Crawford, U.S. Pat. No. 2,689,348.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A shoulder strap retainer made accordingto the present invention includes a weight distributing pad to be placedon the users shoulder and having a soft material of high frictioncoefficient, such as expanded polyurethane foam, forming a bottomshoulder contacting side thereof, and a relatively hard flexible surfacesuch as a polyvinyl chloride sheet, forming the top side thereof. Astrap holding clip, of metal or other suitable material, includes a baseplate which is riveted at one edge to a central portion of the top sideof the pad, and includes a curved hold-down arm that is pivoted to thebase plate in spaced relationship to the rivets. A soft cushion ofmaterials having a high coefficient of friction, such as polyurethanefoam, is bonded to the base plate between it and a strap contacting endportion of the hold-down arm. This arm curves initially away from thebase plate to provide an enlarged shoulder strap encompassing portionand then curves down toward the base plate where the end portion thereofis in overlying relationship to the soft cushion so as to tend toprevent the shoulder strap from riding upwardly or downwardly withrespect to the retainer or out of the open end of the clip.

This hold-down arm is pivoted to the base plate in such a manner thatwhen it is in downward position in contact with a shoulder strap, thetendency of the arm is to remain in this downward position due to anovercenter spring action at the point of pivot of the arm with the baseplate.

In use, the hold-down arm is first opened up and then the shouldercontacting portion of the shoulder strap to be supported is positionedon top of the base plate in the area between the pivotal hold-down armmounting and the rivets and in position to lie in contact with thecushion bonded to the base plate. The hold-down arm is next closed tocontact the shoulder strap and force it tightly against this softcushion. Then the shoulder strap and retainer are placed on the shoulderin such a manner that the closed strap encompassing portion of thehold-down arm is toward the outside of the shoulder. The frictionbetween the pad and the clothing on the shoulder will prevent orsubstantially inhibit the sliding of the retainer from the shoulder, andthe shoulder strap will tend not to slide relative to the retainerbecause the strap contacting end portion is holding it in contact withthe cushion which is bonded to the base plate. Should gravity andexcessive force cause the strap to slip from the cushion towardtheoutside of the shoulder, it will be prevented from leaving the retainerby the strap encompassing portion of the hook. When the strap andretainer are shifted or removed from the shoulder by the user, the strapcontacting end portion and cushion combine to support the retainer onthe strap in position to be ready for use when the strap is againsupported on a shoulder.

When it is desired to remove the retainer, even temporarily, or to usethe retainer elsewhere, the holddown arm is raised and the retainer slidfrom the shoulder strap. The device is of course, then available for useon yet another shoulder strap.

In instances where the shoulder strap is of soft pliable material, thecarrying of a heavy bag over long periods of time may cause anundesirable crease or set to form in the strap where it bends sharplyover the holddown arm. This is particularly true where the weight of thebag being carried is such as to force the strap back against the bottomof the curved strap encompassing portion of the hold-down arm. In thissituation, it is advantageous to provide two additional strap supporthooks, one on either side of the hold-down arm to flat ten the anglewhich the shoulder strap will take as it hangs from the hold-down armand the strap support hook.

In one form of this invention, a decorative flap of material is used toencompass the hold-down arm and is stiff enough and extends far enoughto the side of the hold-down arm so that the edge portions of it formthe strap support hook portions aforementioned.

IN THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a shoulder strapretainer in place on a shoulder strap, the combination situated on theshoulder of a person in position to support a shoulder bag;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged top plan view of the shoulder strapretainer of FIG. ll;

FIG. 3 is a further enlarged cross sectional view of the retainer asseen on the line 33 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the retainer of FIG. 2 but withthe clip in open position and with parts broken away for clarity ofillustration;

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the retainer as seen in FIG. 3but with the retainer fastened on a first type of shoulder strap;

FIG. 6 is a vertical sectional view of the retainer as seen in FIG. 3,but with the retainer fastened on a second type of shoulder strap;

FIG. 7 is a vertical view of the retainer as seen in FIG. 3, but withthe retainer fastened on a third type of shoulder strap;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of a retainer made in accordance with a secondform of the invention and showing a fragment of a shoulder strap inrelation thereto;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the retainer of FIG. 8 but showing theclip in open condition;

FIG. 10 is a top plan view of a retainer made in accordance with a thirdform of the invention and showing a fragment ofa shoulder strap inrelation thereto;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of the shoulder strapretainer of FIG. 10 taken on the line ll11 in that figure; and

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the retainer of FIGS. l0 and 11 butshowing the clip in open condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First Form of the Invention Ina first form of the invention as seen in FIGS. ll through 7, a. shoulderstrap retainer 241 includes a weight distributing pad 22 which consistsofa relatively hard flexible upper surface skin 24, such as leather orpolyvinyl chloride or the like, bonded to a lower soft layer 26 ofmaterial having a high coefficient of friction when situated next toclothing or human skin, such as, for example, expanded polyurethanefoam.

A two piece strap holding clip 28, made of metal or other suitablematerial, and including a base plate 30, is riveted to the pad 22 as at32. The clip has a hold-down arm 34 which is pivotally mounted to thebase plate 32 by pivotal mounting 36.

This hold-down arm includes a concavely curved shoulder strapencompassing portion 40 adjacent the pivotal mounting 36 and an integralconvexly curved strap engaging end portion 42 extending outwardly toform the outer end of the hold-down arm. Between the curved shoulderstrap encompassing portion 40 and the pivotal mounting 36 of the arm isa flat portion 44. This flat portion is provided with outwardlyextending ears 46,46 each of which is encompassed in an eyelet 48,48.These eyelets are constituted as end extensions of the base plate 3%.

A resilient finger 38 is integral with and extends outwardly from acentral portion of the base plate 30 and, when the hold-down arm is inits downward or closed position, this finger bears against the outer endof the flat portion 44 to tend to hold the arm 34 in the closedposition. When the arm 34 is in the open position, as best seen in FIG.4, the resilient finger 38 tends to hold the flat portion 44 in a mannercausing the hold-down arm 34 to stay in the open position.

A cushion 50 of soft material such as expanded v polyurethane foam, forexample, is bonded to the upper surface of the base plate 30 between thebase plate and the arm 34 and in alignment with the convexly curvedstrap engaging end portion 42 of that arm. It is desirable that thiscushion have a sufficiently high coefficient of friction to engage thestrap held in the retainer and prevent it from sliding therewithin. Anysuitable cement or adhesive or other method of bonding may be used tosecure the cushion to the base plate.

To utilize the shoulder strap retainer 20, the clip 28 is opened bypositioning the arm 34 in its open condition as seen in FIG. 4. A strapfor supporting a bag is placed in overlying relationship to the cushionS0, and the hold-down arm is moved toward closed condition so that theresilient finger 38 will come to bear on the flat portion 44 of the armto tend to move it toward and hold it in the closed position. Theshoulder strap and retainer will then be placed on the shoulder and willbe positioned as seen in FIG. 1.

In each case, the shoulder strap will be placed between the pivot point36 and the rivet point 32 so that any tendency of the strap to move withrespect to the cushion 50 will likely cause movement toward the closed,shoulder strap encompassing portion 40 of the arm 34. The relationshipof various straps in this regard is shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7. In FIGS.5 and 6, two forms of padded strap are shown, and in FIG. 7, a shoulderstrap constituted as a link chain is shown. Other shapes such as smoothround leather or plastic straps or woven rope straps will be held justas effectively. In all of these cases, any tendency of the strap to slipwill cause it to slip into the closed" portion of the clip 28, while thecushion 50 will also tend to prevent the strap from sliding out of theopen end of the clip. Second Form of the Invention In the second form ofthe invention, as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, parts similar to or identicalwith the parts identified in the first form of the invention areidentically numbered. Thus a pad 22 has a two-piece clip 28 riveted toit as at 32, and a cushion 50 is bonded to the top surface of the baseplate 30 of clip 28. Resilient finger 38 tends to hold the hold-down arm34 in downward position when that arm has been placed in that position.

In situations where the strap 21 is of a soft and pliable material, thecarrying of a heavy bag suspended therefrom will, in the case of thefirst form of the invention, tend to cause the permanent crease'or setas the heavy weight of the bag tends to cause the strap to hang againstthe closed end of the clip 28. In order to prevent this tendency todamage the shoulder strap, two hooks 52,52 are provided, one on eitherside of the hold-down arm 34. These hooks are constituted, in the formof the invention as seen in FIGS. 8 and 9, as integral upwardly curledJ-shaped extensions of a flat plastic plate 53 which is riveted, withthe base plate 30, to the pad 22 with rivets 32.

As clearly seen in FIG. 8, when these hooks are employed to support ashoulder strap 21, the bend of that strap will be much more gentle dueto the contact of the hooks at points 56,56. The formation of a sharpcrease or set in the strap will be prevented.

Third Form of the Invention In the third form of the invention as seenin FIGS. through 12, parts similar or identical to the parts identifiedin FIGS. 1 through 9 are identically numbered. In this form of theinvention, however, a plastic or leather flap 62 of stiff but flexiblematerial is positioned between base plate 30 and pad 22 through theinstrumentality of rivets 32,32 and extends upwardly over the convexlycurved strap engaging end portion 42 of the hold-down arm 34 in positionto cover the holddown arm and to leave a more pleasing aestheticappearance to the retainer when in use. See particularly FIG. 10 in thisregard.

This flap 62, however, serves a much more important functional purposein that the outer edge portions 64,64 of this flap form supports toperform a function similar to that of the hooks 52 of the second-form ofthe invention. A shoulder strap 21 then rides on the outer edges ofthese supports as at 66,66, and this alleviates the tendency for a sharpbend, kink or set" to develop in the shoulder strap 21.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed are defined as follows:

l. A retainer for holding a shoulder strap in position on the shoulderofa human, said retainer including:

a weight distributing pad adapted to rest on a shoulder of a human,

a strap holding clip having a base plate mounted on top of said pad anda hold-down arm pivotably secured to said base plate for movementbetween open and closed positions, a cushion mounted on top of said baseplate and engageable with said hold-down arm to frictionally engage ashoulder strap when said held down arm is in a closed, strap holdingposition, said cushion and arm tending to prevent said strap from movingrelative to said pad and said pad tendin to prevent said retainer frommoving with respec to a shoulder of a human, and

a flap of stiff but flexible material'secured to said pad and extendingoutwardly over the hold-down arm and secured thereto, said flap beingsubstantially wider than said hold-down arm so that the outer edgesthereof provide supports for said strap to prevent the formation of asharp bend in said strap.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said pad includes a lower,shoulder-contacting, soft layer having a high coefficient of frictioncovered by a relatively hard flexible upper, weight distributing skin.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said clip is a two piece clip withthe hold-down arm formed with a concavely curved, shoulder strapencompassing portion and a convexly curved, strap engaging end portion.

4. The structure of claim 3 wherein said cushion is of relativelyfrictional material and disposed on said base plate so that saidconvexly curved, strap engaging portion of said arm is in overlyingrelation thereto.

1. A retainer for holding a shoulder strap in position on the shoulderof a human, said retainer including: a weight distributing pad adaptedto rest on a shoulder of a human, a strap holding clip having a baseplate mounted on top of said pad and a hold-down arm pivotably securedto said base plate for movement between open and closed positions, acushion mounted on top of said base plate and engageable with saidhold-down arm to frictionally engage a shoulder strap when said helddown arm is in a closed, strap holding position, said cushion and armtending to prevent said strap from moving relative to said pad and saidpad tending to prevent said retainer from moving with respect to ashoulder of a human, and a flap of stiff but flexible material securedto said pad and extending outwardly over the hold-down arm and securedthereto, said flap being substantially wider than said hold-down arm sothat the outer edges thereof provide supports for said strap to preventthe formation of a sharp bend in said strap.
 2. The structure of claim 1wherein said pad includes a lower, shoulder-contacting, soft layerhaving a high coefficient of friction covered by a relatively hardflexible upper, weight distributing skin.
 3. The structure of claim 1wherein said clip is a two piece clip with the hold-down arm formed witha concavely curved, shoulder strap encompassing portion and a convexlycurved, strap engaging end portion.
 4. The structure of claim 3 whereinsaid cushion is of relatively frictional material and disposed on saidbase plate so that said convexly curved, strap engaging portion of saidarm is in overlying relation thereto.